More than Meets the Eye: Functionally Salient Changes in Internal Bone Architecture Accompany Divergence in Cichlid Feeding Mode
Figure 2
(a) LF and MZ exhibit clear differences in internal bone architecture. Both frontal and transverse sections are shown. Frontal sections were taken approximately halfway through the bone. Lines through the elements show the level at which transverse sections were taken. Differences in bone architecture were quantified as bone bending stiffness (i.e., mm4, (b)) and bone cross-sectional area (mm2, (c)). For both measures, the F1 and F2 hybrid generations are intermediate, with a statistical bias toward MZ values. For both (b) and (c), the “a, b, and c” indicate statistical groupings according to a two-tail t-test, and bars indicate standard errors. (d) Linear regression of bone area on bending stiffness. The relationship between bone bending stiffness and area is approximately the same for MZ and both hybrid generations, but different for LF, which are more efficient in terms of generating greater bending stiffness via the distribution of bone.
